Daily Current Affairs Updates–31st December 2016

Daily Current affairs News Updates about the National and International events were listed here. Candidates those who are preparing for IBPS/SBI/PO/Clerk exam and all other competitive exams can use this.

NATIONAL:

PM launches Mobile App-BHIM for Aadhaar-based digital payment

i) Prime Minister NarendraModi today launched a mobile app Bharat Interface for Money, BHIM to facilitate digital cash transactions with only a thumb print after the bank account is linked with Aadhaar gateway.

ii) The Prime Minister exhorted citizens to adopt digital currency from the new year. MrModi took swipes at his political opponents for criticisingdemonetisation saying the drive was aimed at catching the corrupts that eats away the nation’s wealth.

India, Singapore sign 3rd protocol for amending DTAA

i) India and Singapore have signed the 3rd protocol for amending Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA).

ii) Briefing reporters in New Delhi today, Finance Minister ArunJaitley said the revisiting of this treaty is important as it will help in government’s efforts to eliminate black money.

Nitish government announces 50 % reservation in judicial services

i) The Bihar Cabinet has declared 50 per cent reservation in all judicial services for aspirants belonging to the Extremely Backward Classes, Other Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

ii) The reservation will be in both Superior Judicial Services and Subordinate Judicial Services.

iii) According to the Cabinet decision, aspirants belonging to EBCs will get 21 per cent reservation, OBCs will have 12 per cent reservations, Scheduled Castes will have 16 per cent reservation and Scheduled Tribes will be provided 1 per cent reservation in all judicial services of the State.

iv) In all categories, there will be 35 per cent ‘horizontal reservation’ for women and 1 per cent reservation for disabled persons.

ii) The book’s title has been borrowed from the 64-year-old actor’s famous song “KhullamKhullaPyarKarenge Hum Dono”.

Government Suspends Deemed Recognition of IOA

i) Government has suspended the deemed recognition, granted by it to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) until the IOA reverses its decision to appoint Suresh Kalmadi and AbhayChautala as Life Presidents.

ii) Following the suspension, IOA will cease to enjoy the privileges and prerogatives bestowed on it by the Government as the National Olympic Committee (NOC). All Government assistance, financial or otherwise, to IOA will also be stopped.

INTERNATIONAL:

SorinGrindeanu appointed as Prime Minister of Romania

i) Social-democrat SorinGrindeanu was on named as the Prime Minister of Romania. Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis signed the official decree naming Grindeanu as the new Prime Minister.

ii) By doing so, Iohannis turned down the appointment of SevilShhaideh, an economist who could have become the first female Muslim PM of Romania.

ii) The oath-taking ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Chairman of the Senate and Speaker of the National Assembly, among others.

iii) Justice Nisar is the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court and has also served as a judge in the Lahore High Court.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon bids colleagues, staff farewell

i) UN Chief Ban Ki Moon’s term ends today. In a farewell function held at the UN headquarters in New York today, Ban Ki Moon thanked U.N. workers for their hard work and commitment over the course of his 10-year tenure.

ii) He said that he is honored to have served UN and is so grateful for the support and friendship that the staff have shown to him.

UN Security Council to vote on Syria cease-fire agreement

i) The United Nations Security Council is to vote today on a Russian resolution that would endorse the cease-fire agreement in Syria and reiterate support for a road-map to peace that starts with a transitional government.

ii) The draft resolution calls for rapid, safe and unhindered access to deliver humanitarian aid throughout the country.

World’s highest bridge opens in China

i) The world’s highest bridge has opened to traffic in China, connecting two provinces in the mountainous southwest and reducing travel times by as much as three-quarters.

ii) The Beipanjiang Bridge soars 565 metres (1,854 feet) above a river and connects the two mountainous provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou.

Russia pushes UN resolution on Syria ceasefire

i) Russia has submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council supporting the ceasefire it helped broker in Syria as well as planned peace talks in Kazakhstan.

ii) Moscow drew up the text yesterday endorsing the plan it spearheaded with the help of Turkey and Iran for a nationwide ceasefire.

iii) The truce went into effect at midnight and appeared to be mainly holding yesterday despite reports of sporadic clashes near Damascus.

BANKING NEWS:

State bank of India ties up with Magicbricks.com

i) State Bank of India, the country’s largest bank has tied up with online classifieds portal magicbricks.com, to conduct joint marketing activites and help rejuvenate the real estate sector.

ii) To kick start the MOU, SBI and Magicbricks are launching the “Seal the Deal” campaign. Under Seal The Deal, SBI and Magicbricks will be hosting a mega online property show for SBI Approved Projects. This will be the first housing carnival in the industry at this scale.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY NEWS:

Alibaba to soon open first India office in Mumbai

i) Chinese e-retail giant Alibaba, which has made investments in India’s Snapdeal and Paytm, is setting up its first office in India in Mumbai.

ii) The office will be located at the commercial Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai. US e-commerce giant Amazon also has its office in the same complex.

iii) Alibaba’s decision to open the office could imply that the competition in e-commerce sector in India is likely to get even more fierce.

Cash withdrawal limit from ATMs increased to Rs 4,500 per day

i)In a major relief for the common man, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) increased the daily limit of ATM withdrawal to Rs 4500 from current Rs 2500 with effective from January 1, 2017.

ii) RBI in a notification issued has said that there has been no change in the weekly withdrawal limit, which stands at Rs 24,000, including from ATM, for individuals and Rs50,000 in case of small traders. It further said such disbursals will predominantly be in the denomination of Rs 500.

APPOINTMENTS:

India Today poll: ViratKohli voted India’s Sportsperson of 2016

i) Test captain ViratKohli has emerged as India’s Sportsperson of the Year 2016 in a poll conducted by India .

ii)Kohli, with 44.18% votes, pipped badminton ace PV Sindhu (31.51%) for the top spot while star all-rounder RavichandranAshwin came third with 13.83% of the votes.

iii) Even though Kohli won the poll this year, all the six sportspersons who were a part of this poll were winners in their own rights

Air Marshal C Hari Kumar hands over command of EAC to R Nambiar

i) Air Marshal C Hari Kumar, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Air Command (EAC), IAF handed over the command of EAC to Air Marshal R Nambiar, Senior Air Staff Officer yesterday.

ii) He will take over as AOC-in-C Western Air Command tomorrow. Air Marshal C Hari Kumar had taken over the command of Headquarters, EAC on 1st of September 2015.

Anil Baijal takes oath as Delhi Lieutenant Governor

i) Anil Baijal took oath as new Lieutenant Governor of Delhi today. The oath taking ceremony was held at Rajniwas this morning. Earlier, President Pranab Mukherjee approved his appointment.

ii) 70-year-old Mr. Baijal, a 1969 batch IAS officer, had served as Union Home Secretary under the AtalBihari Vajpayee government besides holding key positions in other ministries. His appointment came after the sudden resignation of Najeeb Jung from the post.

General BipinRawat takes over as next Chief of Army Staff

i) General BipinRawat took over as the next Chief of Army Staff. General Rawat has tremendous hands on experience of serving in combat areas, and at various functional levels in the Indian Army over the last three decades.

ii) He has handled various operational responsibilities in many areas, including along the LoC with Pakistan, the LAC with China, and in the North-East.

iii) He is known for his balanced approach towards soldiering, compassion, and connect with civil society. His experience as GOC-in-C Southern Army Command in Mechanised Warfare has been focused towards the western borders, in coordination with the other two services.

AWARDS AND HONORS:

BharatiyaJananpith announces Navlekhan award 2016

i) Two new Hindi writers Shraddha and Ghyansham Kumar Devansh have been chosen for BharatiyaJnanpith 12th Navlekhan Award for the year 2016, the literary organisation announced.

ii) The decision to confer the award on Shraddha for her short story, ‘Hawa Mein PhadphadatiChitthi’ and on Devansh for his poem ‘Akash Mein Deh’ was taken unanimously by a selection panel chaired by eminent poet Vishnu Nagar.

iii) The award, that is given to young authors in Hindi for their first creations, consists of a statue of Goddess Saraswati, a citation and a cash prize each, besides Jnanpith publishing their works.

i) Creating history, Mumbai prodigy Kush Bhagat has won all three gold medals on offer in the 1st Western Asia Youth Chess Championships. The event held at Al Ain Chess Club in UAE, the second standard student of the NSS Hill Spring International School reigned supreme in all the three categories – rapid, blitz and standard.

ii) He achieved the feat of being the only Indian to bag all the crowns in the competition. A press release said, Kush overcame the challenges from 158 participants from 20 countries across the world.